Candidate for Congress from California's 3rd Congressional District
Ami Bera
Ami Bera is a native of California with over fifteen years of dedicated service as a physician, public administrator and visionary leader. The youngest of three boys, Dr. Bera's parents immigrated to the United States from India in the 1950s. He grew up in a vibrant household, benefitting from the traditional values of hard work, educational discipline and social responsibility.
He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of California Irvine and completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. At age 39, Dr. Bera was appointed Dean of Admissions at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. He served as an inspirational administrator, policy reformer and beloved teacher and mentor. Today at 44, Ami continues his commitment to servant leadership and is running to represent the 3rd Congressional District of California.
Candidate for Congress from Michigan's 13th Congressional District
Hansen Clarke
Hansen Clarke, a native of the 13th Congressional District, spent most of his life on the east-side of Detroit near Mack and Baldwin. His mother, who became a single parent after his father died when he was eight, raised him on her school crossing-guard salary. Money was tight, but love and support was plentiful.
Recognizing that her son had a gift for the arts, Thelma secured a grant for Hansen to receive private lessons at the Detroit Institute of the Arts. This move would prove to be life changing. Based on his artistic talent, Hansen received a scholarship from Cornell University, where he majored in painting. Concerned that students who needed financial aid might not receive it, Hansen was elected to a student seat on Cornell's Board of Trustees. He worked to ensure that Cornell provide financial aid to students whose families needed assistance. Shortly after graduation, Hansen enrolled at Georgetown Law School were he earned his Juris Doctor degree.
His love for arts never diminished and his passion to help others persevered. After passing the bar, Hansen Clarke returned to Detroit and dedicated his career to serving his neighborhood. He was elected three times to the Michigan House of Representatives. In 2002, he was elected to the Michigan State Senate by defeating an incumbent. Clarke represents the 1st District. Hansen's dedication to reviving his hometown of Detroit and holding government accountable continues as he seeks a seat in the U.S. Congress. As a visual artist, Hansen recently donated his paintings to charities including the Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS).
Candidate for Re-election to Congress from Virginia's 11th Congressional District
Gerry Connolly
Gerry Connolly is serving his first term in Congress. He previously served for five years as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He also served nine years as the Providence District Supervisor. As Chairman of the ten-member board, Gerry balanced a budget of $4.5 billion. Gerry also served as Chairman of the Board of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC), Chairman of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), and a member of the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) where he was chairman. He also chaired the region's Emergency Preparedness Taskforce. Gerry represented Fairfax County on the Board of the Virginia Association of Counties (VaCo) where he also served as president.
Following his election to Congress in November 2008, Gerry joined the New Democrats Caucus, a group of pro-business, centrist members of Congress who advocate fiscal responsibility and economic growth. Gerry serves on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Budget Committee. Gerry soon earned a reputation as a fiscally responsible legislator and an independent voice for Northern Virginia. Within the Congress, Gerry quickly became known as an expert on local and state government issues, including transportation and education. He is also regarded as a strong advocate for federal employees and issues affecting the information technology and government contracting sectors, which shape the backbone of Northern Virginia's economy and workforce.
He was elected President of the Freshman class by his colleagues and in that role he served as a liaison to House leadership, advocating for moderate, pragmatic policies supported by fellow new members of Congress. In a tough economic climate, Gerry has successfully steered funding to Northern Virginia for vital projects, including completion of the Fairfax County Parkway, widening of the Prince William Parkway, accelerating work on Rail to Dulles, purchasing locomotives and rail cars to maintain safety and add capacity on Virginia Railway Express, and funding for Metro. In Fairfax and Prince William, he has also fought to save teachers' jobs and protect quality education.
Joe Fernandez is running for Attorney General of Rhode Island. He would be the first Asian American Attorney General in the United States and the first Asian American statewide elected official in New England. Joe served as the City Solicitor of Providence, Rhode Island from 2003 to 2009, where he earned a reputation for rooting out corruption, vigorously prosecuting crime, protecting taxpayers, and making the city work better for regular people. During his tenure as the city's top lawyer, crime dropped by thirty percent. Prior to his public service, Joe served the New York and Rhode Island business communities as a lawyer in private practice.
"As the son of Filipino immigrants, I am proof that through hard work and determination, any person can achieve their dream, and I'm running for Attorney General of Rhode Island to ensure that everyone has the opportunities that I've had," asserts Joe. He attended Brown University and Harvard Law School, where he was a classmate of President Obama. Joe is married and the proud father of eight year old twin daughters.
Candidate for Congress from Kansas' 4th Congressional District
Raj Goyle
Raj Goyle is in his second term representing the 87th District in the Kansas House of Representatives. Called a "rising star" by the Wichita Eagle, Goyle is committed to a bipartisan, common sense approach to lawmaking. Goyle is Ranking Member on the Veterans/Homeland Security Committee and serves on the Judiciary Committee.
He co-wrote the law protecting families from picketers at the funerals of Kansas' fallen soldiers and spearheaded legislation last year to provide critical assistance to laid-off workers and expand job training. Goyle is a lecturer at Wichita State University and an attorney. A native Wichitan, Goyle graduated from Duke University and Harvard Law School. He and his wife Monica are the proud parents of their new baby girl, Ana.
Candidate for Congress from Hawaii's 1st Congressional District
Colleen Hanabusa
Senate President Colleen Hanabusa is the daughter of June and Isao Hanabusa, who ran a well-known gas station in Waianae. Her great-grandparents emigrated from Japan to work on Hawaii's sugar plantations, and her family on both sides includes community leaders and entrepreneurs who worked hard to improve the lives of their families and their community.
In November 1998, Senator Hanabusa was elected to serve the people of the Twenty-First District as their State Senator. She was described by colleagues on both sides of the aisle as outspoken, independent and politically courageous. She has been recognized for her work as a State Senator, including being named outstanding legislator by several organizations. This is why she has been endorsed for Congress by Senators Inouye and Akaka and most Hawaii labor groups, and has raised far more than her opponents for the seat by a wide margin.
Aside from her duties as a State Senator, Senator Hanabusa is a practicing attorney who, since 1993, has been noted in Honolulu Magazine as "One of Hawai`i's A+ Attorneys." She graduated from St. Andrew's Priory and then attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Sociology, a Master of Arts in Sociology, and her law degree.
In December 2003, Kamala Harris was elected as the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco's history, and as the first African American woman and South Asian American woman in California to hold the office. She was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term in November 2007.
Born and raised in the East Bay, Kamala's strong commitment to justice and public service led her to Howard University, America's oldest historically black university, and then to the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Harris has spent her entire professional life in the trenches as a courtroom prosecutor. After graduating from U.C. Hastings College of the Law, she took a position in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, where she specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases. As a Deputy District Attorney she also prosecuted cases for homicide and robbery. She worked at that office from 1990 to 1998 before going on to serve in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.
Candidate for Re-election to U.S. Congress, California's 15th C.D.
Mike Honda
Mike Honda, the President of the AAA-Fund Honorary Board of Directors, was elected to represent California's 15th Congressional District in 2000. He also serves as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and House Democratic Senior Whip. He serves on the Appropriations Committee, with postings on that body's Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Commerce, Justice, and Science, and Legislative Branch Subcommittees.
Mike was born in California, but spent his early childhood with his family in an internment camp in Colorado during World War II. His family returned to California in 1953, becoming strawberry sharecroppers in San Jose. In 1965, Mike interrupted his college studies to answer President John F. Kennedy's call for volunteer service. He served in the Peace Corps for two years in El Salvador, returning with a passion for teaching and fluent in Spanish.
Mike earned Bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences and Spanish, and a Master's degree in Education from San José State University. He has worked as a science teacher, principal at two public schools, education researcher at Stanford University, and member of the California State Assembly (1996 to 2000).
Born and raised in Delaware County, former three-star Vice Admiral Joe Sestak was elected to represent Pennsylvania's 7th District in November 2006 and re-elected in 2008. This is the District where he and his seven siblings grew up, where he voted throughout his military career, and where he returned after completing his military service to our country.
Joe graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and spent 31 years serving in the U.S. Navy. After 9/11, Joe was the first Director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit for the "Global War on Terrorism." Joe also served as President Clinton's Director for Defense Policy at the National Security Council in the White House. Between tours of duty at sea, he earned a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University.
Joe included Asian Pacific Americans in his core campaign team in 2006 and 2008, and is doing so again in 2010. He also made outreach to the local Asian Pacific American community a key part of his campaigns in 2006 and 2008, and is doing it again this year. He has dedicated himself to improving the health, education and economic security of Asian Pacific Americans, and all Americans.
Candidate for Congress from Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District
Manan Trivedi
From boots on the battleground to scrubs in the emergency room, Manan Trivedi has been on the frontlines of the most pressing issues that our nation faces. Growing up the son of a plant worker, becoming a physician, a Naval Officer and a decorated Iraq War Veteran has prepared Manan for the frontlines of Congress. A son of immigrants from India, Manan was born and raised in Berks County where his parents worked at the Red Cheek apple juice factory. He grew up in Fleetwood where he and his brother attended public school and graduated from Fleetwood High School. Manan knows his community well and has a long history of service to our country.
Manan Trivedi's passion for community service began at a very early age. As a young teenager, he won a national contest for launching a healthy eating initiative. In college, he received a community service award for his work with HIV/AIDS patients. After medical school, Manan chose to do his residency at Harbor-UCLA, a safety-net hospital where he treated mostly uninsured and working-poor patients. Manan also took his medical skills to Iraq, where he served as the Battalion Surgeon for the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment Marine Corps Infantry during the invasion of Baghdad.
Manan currently works as a primary care physician and a health reform advocate in Reading, Pa. Besides his clinical work, he focuses on quality improvement and graduate medical education issues.
